The Bathrooms Project

We learned that a lack of bathrooms is preventing young girls from attending school in remote villages.  We want to change that.  We are building bathrooms. 

Goals: To construct sanitary and private restrooms for primary school children in remote areas; increase girls’ enrollment; promote community investment into local schools.
Partners: This project is generously supported by a $10,000 grant from the Family Health Organization, Beaver Dam Wisconsin and services from volunteers and investment of beneficiary communities.
Highlights.
Excuse me, where’s the restroom? This is the question that was asked by a young girl who was accompanying her uncle during site visits to several schools primary schools in the mountainous region of Azad Kashmir. As Dr. Maqbool of the Family Health Organization of Wisconsin searched for an appropriate restroom, he quickly discovered something very important – something we usually take for granted – was missing. A number of primary schools in Azad Kashmir villages lacked sanitary and private restrooms for school children. As a result, many girls were refraining from going to school at all.

OMEED worked with local officials to identify the most needy schools in the region. A local judge volunteered to personally visit the schools and monitor progress of construction. OMEED engaged a volunteer architect to develop blueprints for restrooms that would work for the local terrain and could be further customized for individual schools. OMEED will provide construction of facilities and training and supplies for sanitary maintenance. In order to ensure a sense of community buy-in, recipient communities must contribute to each project – whether by in-kind donations or labor support.

The following schools have been selected as the initial beneficiaries:

• Primary School for Girls in Hatian village
• Daanish School for Boys and Girls in Changal village
• School in Ghori village